Young boy reportedly dies of bacterial meningitis

A young boy has died of meningitis caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae, the Health Ministry has confirmed.

The child first displayed symptoms a few days ago and eventually lost his life on Sunday.

A Health Ministry spokesperson confirmed that a "thorough clean up" was performed at the boy's school over the weekend. They said that public health authorities had gone to the school on Monday to offer advice to parents of children at the school as well as teachers.

"All necessary measures were taken to avoid any spread of the disease. It is to be noted that secondary cases are extremely rare. In fact no secondary cases of this particular bacterial meningitis were ever reported in Malta," the spokesperson said.